RAIPUR: The main suspect was arrested in the case of a journalist's body being found in a septic tank in Chhattisgarh. The body of Mukesh Chandrakar (32), an independent journalist who formerly worked for NDTV, was found the other day.
Mukesh's distant relative and contractor Suresh Chandrakar was arrested last night from Hyderabad. He was on the run since the death news came out. Police said that Suresh was hiding at his driver's residence in Hyderabad. The investigation team checked 200 CCTV footage and 300 mobile numbers before tracking him down.
Suresh is now undergoing interrogation. Earlier, four bank accounts in the name of Suresh were frozen and the illegally constructed structure was razed down. Suresh's wife has also been taken into custody. Mukesh's body was found inside a septic tank in a shed owned by a contractor in Chhattisgarh's Baster. Mukesh was last seen on New Year's Day when he left his home in Bijapur.
When Mukesh did not return, his brother Ukesh complained to the police. During the subsequent investigation, the dead body was found at Chatan Para Basti, not far from the house. According to the postmortem report, Mukesh was attacked with a thick object. The report also states that there were fatal wounds on the head, chest, outside and abdomen. The body was identified as Mukesh's by the tattoo on his hand. Mukesh's relatives Ritesh Chandrakar, Dinesh Chandrakar and Mahendra Ramteke were earlier arrested from Bijapur in the incident.
According to the police, Ritesh and Mahendra killed the journo by hitting him on the head with an iron rod after an argument during the dinner. The dead body was later dumped into the septic tank. Under the leadership of Dinesh, the tank was covered with cement. Police said Suresh was the main mastermind of the murder.